ACTIVATION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ON THE LABOR MARKET

: Social and professional inclusion of persons with disabilities is a big challenge to the state, local authorities and other people responsible for administration as well as institutions supporting persons with dysfunctions. Determining the situation of persons with disabilities on the labor market and proper identification of its causes results in effective development of the state policy for those persons and efficient activities of the institutions which support them in professional activation.

Introduction e situation of persons with disabilities and the phenomenon of disability itself are studied by numerous sciences such as medical, engineering and technical, and social ones, including sociology and economy. In medical sciences, disability is related to health impairment, diseases and their direct consequences. Disability researchers considered it in biological terms as well: "a person with a disability is someone with biological and social, intellectual, or moral de ciency as long as the de ciency signi cantly impedes or prevents the person from exercising basic life function"' (Ochonczenko , p. ). is meant, among other things, that the body was unable to realize its functions. Technical solutions facilitating the everyday life of persons with disabilities as well as architectural adjustments, including those in broadly de ned infrastructure, are developed by engineering and technical sciences. In economic sciences, disability is o en considered in terms of the labor market and professional activation. Social exclusion, discrimination and people's attitudes toward disability are all sociological aspects. Note that the job was a factor in class division along with status and power in industrialized countries. is fact led to the discrimination of those outside the labor market. In the framework of the 'industrial army' concept, people with disabilities were not considered workforce except in a time of war or during economic booms when there was not enough workers (Barnes, Mercer ). Authors underline that labor is the main means of satisfying human needs (Górka , p. ; Szlosek , p. -; Świtała , p. -). Labor promotes activity because working allows one to meet the needs which have not been satis ed yet. People initially strive to meet their basic needs and then the grow needs (including, among other things, self-actualization). In addition, work creates social prestige, increases recognition, assigns social roles, and determines one's position in the societal hierarchy (Mikusińska ). For people with disabilities, economic activity brings independence and self-su ciency combined with social integration and belonging. Long-term unemployed and inactive people o en tend to grow isolated. It is of vital importance that everyone have equal opportunities and be equally able to undertake activities. e essence of disability and professional activity of persons with disabilities e fundamental challenge in researching the situation of persons with disabilities on the labor market is de ning disability. Literature and practice utilize various criteria and de nitions of this term. Disability is a multifaceted, diversi ed and dynamic phenomenon, so providing its unambiguous de nition is di cult (Kołaczek ). Disability was associated with faulty body and mind in the twentieth century. People with disabilities depended on others. eir education took place in dedicated facilities where the process could be adapted to their speci c needs.
is system prepared people with disabilities for work in special cooperatives without joint education and work with people without disabilities. is system was inadequate; Talcott Parsons ( ) compared it to a social deviation, a threat to normal functioning and growth in economic productivity and e ciency (Barnes, Mercer ). In economy, disability means reduced abilities to earn money, medicine de nes it as limited tness of the body, while sociology perceives it as di culties with social adaptation (Garbat ). Economics included a change in production methods, the production and technology approach, in the discussion on disability. It is related to industrialization and competitive capitalism set for highly organized and e cient work, which resulted in labor segmentation according to the ability to work. With the advent of new technologies and industry, where organized manual labor was no longer so vital for growth and production, the approach became obsolete (Golinowska ). Social sciences were the rst ones to undertake a scienti c analysis of disability. It was viewed as a personal tragedy (Oliver ) because persons with disabilities are o en dependent on physically healthy and socially productive people (Sa lios-Rothschild ). Nowadays social sciences discuss disability in two dimensions, the individual and social one, as a problem which a ects broad communities (Marszałek ). Consequently, the medical de nition of disability is di erent than that in the economic and social sciences. One of the widely adopted de nitions of disability in the medical eld was formulated in by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to that de nition, disability is any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being . Critics believe that WHO's de nition was based only on medical premises and therefore it omits the social and cultural aspects. ose convictions led to the creation of the International Classi cation of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in . It does not divide persons with disabilities into the three abovementioned groups, but it does classify features of the health status in relation to life situation and the surroundings (Kabsch ). Polish legislation governs the a airs of persons with disabilities via the Act of February on the professional and social rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons. Article of that Act provides that disability is a permanent or periodic lack of ability to ful ll social roles due to (permanent or long-term) limited body tness which results in the inability to work (Journal of Laws: Dz. U. from , item , art. ). Article de nes a disabled person as one whose disability has been con rmed via a certi cate issued by competent bodies (Journal of Laws: Dz. U. from , item , art. ). e Polish Act on social welfare Quotation source: Encyklopedia powszechna PWN.
de nes disability as a partial or permanent limitation or prevention of independent life due to physical, intellectual or mental impairment (Garbat ). Even though de nitions of disability are considerably diversi ed, they feature certain mutual points. e o cial de nitions of disability put forward by the World Health Organization and legislation, for instance the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) or the Equality Act (Equality Act , Part , Chapter . Retrieved from: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/ / , access: . . ), point to two properties: . ey highlight bodily dysfunctions: disability is a mental or physical impairment of the body recognizable in and characteristic for a particular condition. . ey underline the individual and social limitations which are related to the physical or mental disturbances and exert a signi cant, long-term negative impact on the ability to perform normal everyday activities. Like disability, professional activity has many di erent de nitions, which con rms its multifaceted nature and the interest of researchers from many sciences in this topic.
In terms of economy, professional activity is understood as a set of activities taking place on the labor market. e scope of those activities includes performance of work, its active search, registration in a labor o ce as well as improvement of the professional quali cations and skills which increase the probability of nding a job (Becker-Pestka ). In other words, professional activity means performance of work and receiving remuneration (payment) in return. It is a fundamental activity of every person, whether fully abled or with disabilities. It leads to ful llment of a professional role, performance of the tasks de ned by the social and professional model of a given job, and ful llment of the obligations assigned to a given type of occupation.
Professional activity is very important in every person's life as it permits self-actualization in the social and professional life by ful lling social roles and performing the basic activities in the professional sphere. Persons with disabilities are covered by a special form of restoring their professional activity -professional rehabilitation, which aims at improving their everyday functioning. Activation includes them in social life, while employment allows them to function on the labor market in the conditions close to those o ered to fully abled persons. Despite those facts, persons with disabilities encounter employment-related di culties which frequently manifest themselves in unequal treatment and discrimination.
Persons with disabilities caused, among other things, by the health status, face numerous barriers and limitations in undertaking professional activity, the latter being an important form of participation in the social and economic life from their point of view. Professional activity gives persons with disabilities a feeling of self-actualization and nancial independence, preventing in particular social exclusion. It is a way of achieving social and professional integration.
Persons with disabilities are categorized according to their status on the labor market, as are fully abled persons ( Figure ). ey are divided into a professionally active group (persons with disabilities who are employed or looking for a job) and a professionally passive group (persons with disabilities who do not work, are not looking for a job and have not registered in a labor o ce).
A factor very closely related to professional activity is professional activation, which consists in activities aimed at taking up a job or helping one enter the labor market. It is directed mainly at unemployed persons as their situation on the labor market is special. Professional activation is undertaken by numerous entities functioning in the economy. It is a long-term process which requires nancial outlays, appropriate institutional activities and creation of conditions suitable for seeking, taking up and performance of professional work (Buchwald ). Professional activation depends on many factors on the part of its present or future recipient and their broadly de ned environment. Article of the Act on the professional and social rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons de nes the aim of professional rehabilitation and the activities leading to its accomplishment. According to the Act, "professional rehabilitation aims at making it easier for a person with disabilities to obtain and maintain appropriate employment and promotion by providing that person with access to career counseling, vocational training and employment exchange services" ("Journal of Laws", Dz. U. from , Figure  item , art. ). To achieve that aim, it is necessary to: assess the ability to work via medical examinations and determination of quali cations, provide career counseling as well as select a workplace suitable for a person's limitations and t it with the equipment which permits and facilitates performance of the work. Enabling persons with disabilities to obtain and maintain employment constitutes an additional factor motivating them to pursue self-actualization and to function in the social and professional life. Assisting persons with disabilities in achieving those aims is carried out via speci cally designed activities such as employment exchange services, career counseling and vocational training.

Instruments and institutions of professional activation of persons with disabilities in social policy
e Polish Act on the promotion of employment and the labor market institutions of March ("Journal of Laws", Dz. U. from , item ) governs the policy, institutions, services and activation instruments of the Polish labor market. e labor market institutions perform tasks concerning activation of the unemployed as well as activities which support employment and mitigate unemployment e ects. According to the abovementioned Act, the labor market includes the following ("Journal of Laws", Dz. U. from , item , art. ): • public employment services, • voluntary labor corps, • employment agencies, • training institutions, • social dialog institutions, • local partnership institutions.
Public employment services include employment entities as well as district and voivodeship labor o ces. eir tasks cover, among other things, de ning and coordinating the regional and local policy of the labor market. ey also cover the development and implementation of activities concerning employment support and activation of unemployed and professionally passive persons. Detailed tasks of the public employment services are de ned in section of the Act on the promotion of employment and the labor market institutions ("Journal of Laws", Dz. U. from , item , section ). Nonpublic institutions include employment agencies. eir operation concerns employment exchange in Poland and abroad, personal and career counseling as well as employment support. Social dialog institutions, such as trade unions which represent the interests of employees, the unemployed and employers, play a signi cant role in terms of cooperation with the public employment services and voluntary labor corps. Social dialog institutions also include nongovernmental organizations such as associations and foundations. Literature frequently points to the leading role of nongovernmental organizations in the social and professional rehabilitation of persons with disabilities (Piotrowicz, Cianciara ). e last group includes local partnership institutions which carry out projects on the labor market. eir activities concern, among other things, activation of the unemployed community (Skrzypiec ). Good examples of the activity of local institutions, the society and enterprises are various associations and local action groups operating within a speci c territory (Pomianek, Kowalczyk ). It should also be stressed that the statutory authority responsible for labor market operation in Poland is the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy.
Under the Act on the promotion of employment and the labor market institutions ("Journal of Laws", Dz. U. from , item , art. ), people with disabilities constitute a special category of employees. erefore, the law provides for speci c amenities and obligations when employing members of this social group. ese persons can be employed in the open labor market and in organizations that are part of supported employment schemes or professional activity facilities that comprise the supported employment market. e objective of supported employment is to create conditions for people with disabilities to work through such amenities as accessible rooms or equipment adapted to their needs (Brząkowski ). People with disabilities can work under supported employment schemes or in professional activity facilities, participate in occupational therapy and other forms of segregated activities. Some people are con ned only to such forms of activities. Still, if possible, employers are encouraged to hire and people with disabilities to work under open labor market principles to avoid occupational segregation. Even though it is advantageous for their societal and professional activity, people with disabilities have problems nding jobs when the unemployment rate is high (Tomczyszyn ). Active participation in professional and societal life is one of the areas covered by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Its Articles and provide that states take e ort to enable people with disabilities to achieve and maintain the maximum independence, physical, social, and vocational ability, and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of societal life. is objective calls for habilitation and rehabilitation in such areas as health, education, employment, and social services; and above all, the recognition that the right to work is the same for every citizen (regardless of their level of ability) (Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ). Marcin Garbat de nes four groups of labor market instruments which support the activation of persons with disabilities (Garbat ): • activating instruments -they include, among other things, programs developed and implemented by the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (PFRON); • integrating instruments -broadly de ned specialist family counseling for persons with disabilities aimed at professional integration via e.g. local activity centers, foundations and associations; • supporting instruments -the biggest group. It has a diversi ed scope which includes e.g. employment subsidies, graduate apprenticeships, promotion of entrepreneurship or employment exchange; • governing instruments -these are standards, provisions and legislation which cover various aspects of professional activation of persons with disabilities. Regardless of the form or the instruments used, the support should be appropriately adjusted to the supported person and their needs, which is a precondition of its e ectiveness and usefulness in professional activation.

People with disabilities in the labor market
Disabilities a ect over million people globally (www.unic.un.org.pl/niepelnosprawnosc/, access: . . ). ere are many people with disabilities in Poland. According to the National Census , the number of people with disabilities approached . million, or . pct. of Poland's population. In late , the largest groups of people with disabilities were those with moderate ( . pct.) and mild ( . pct.) disabilities. Less than pct. of people with disabilities were certi ed to have a severe disability, while nearly thousand had a complete disability. e economic activity of the population is most o en measured with the following metrics (Ulman ed. , p. ): • economic activity rate, • employment rate, • economic inactivity rate, • unemployment rate. e situation of people with disabilities in the labor market has been presented with the aforementioned metrics and data from the Central Statistical O ce of Poland collected under PEAS (Population Economic Activity Survey) and data from the Ministry of Family, Labour, and Social Policy. e economic activity of people aged and more from to , including a comparison of people with and without disabilities, is presented in Table . In Poland, the employment rate among people with disabilities is much lower than the EU average of pct. (quarterly and annual data from PEAS, CSOP). at Poland is among the countries with the lowest employment rate among people with disabilities is further con rmed and emphasized by Andrzej Juros and Arkadiusz Biały (Juros, Biały ). Table shows how basic labor market indicators changed in Poland from to for people with and without disabilities. e years was a time of positive labor market changes for people with disabilities. Since Poland joined the EU, the economic activity rate has grown to reach . pct. in late . e employment rate has also grown year on year to reach . pct. in late compared to . pct. in . Still, the value is rather low compared to the employment rate for people without disabilities. e unemployment rate among people with disabilities was , pct. in , and shrunk by . pct. to . pct. in . When juxtaposed, the indicators for people with and without disabilities exhibit disparities. e unemployment rate is higher among people with disabilities than among people without disabilities, and the di erence was . pct. in . Note that the last three or four years in that period show a general improvement in the labor market. e year was a time of changes in the economy and the labor market. In the late rst quarter of , the state of the COVID-pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-was announced in Poland. Many employers changed how work was done and switched to remote work. ere are no di erences for pre-and post-pandemic values of the indicators in the table. Nevertheless, the shi form commuting to remote work can be an opportunity to increase the economic and social activity of people with disabilities.
Registered people with disabilities are presented per voivodeship to illustrate their situation better. As stressed by Zdzisław Kazanowski and Agnieszka Żyta (Kazanowski, Żyta ), the place of residence is one of the drivers of attitudes towards people with disabilities and their acceptance. e structure of people with disabilities registered with job centers in varied in terms of the place of residence and sex ( Figures . and .).  Almost all voivodeships were dominated by the unemployed from urban areas. e most conspicuous voivodeships were Śląskie and Podlaskie. Only Podkarpackie Voivodeship had more registered unemployed people from rural areas.
More men with disabilities were registered than women. It was only in Pomorskie Voivodeship that unemployed women constituted pct. of the registered unemployed in the voivodeship. In capital Mazowieckie Voivodeship, the registered unemployed population consisted in , pct. of men and in , pct. of women.
Labor market support for people with disabilities e statistical data demonstrate that people with disabilities exhibit a low level of economic activity and low employment rate. e national policy is now facing a signi cant challenge of preventing unemployment and economic inactivity repercussions. A failure to implement stimuli can lead to exclusions within the group. Tadeusz Majewski emphasized that the state can shape the situation of unemployed people with disabilities to a large extent. e objective of the national policy should be to guarantee equal employment opportunities to people with disabilities. State agencies should help people with disabilities search for the right jobs and aid employers with issues related to employing someone with disabilities (Majewski ). ere are many reasons people with disabilities can count on support regarding nding employment. e aid is divided into two categories (Badanie potrzeb osób…, ): • direct -targeted directly at the person with disabilities, • indirect -received vicariously through the employer.
Direct support includes reimbursement of social security contributions for farmers and their families. Business owners can count on reimbursement of disability and old-age pension contributions. Funds are also available to those who want to start a business or a farm. People other than business owners can expect assistance with nding employment or career advice, which is available to unemployed people without disabilities as well (Jarmołowicz, Knapińska ). ese actions are aimed at helping the unemployed nd employment or resume work. People with disabilities are o ered retraining, training, and professional development. It is an opportunity for those who used to work but can no longer perform the same tasks. Finally, direct support involves instrumental aid in the form of care for a dependant.
Employers of people with disabilities play an important role in indirect support. If an employer employs a su cient number of people with certi ed disabilities, they are exempt from payments to the State Fund for Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities. It is available to those businesses with employment over full-time equivalents, including a required number of people with disabilities. It entices employers to employ people with disabilities. If a person with disabilities is aided by another at work, the employer is reimbursed the cost of training and employing the assistant. Another important matter is the partial reimbursement of remuneration for people with disabilities. When a company does not have a job adequate in terms of the employee's speci c disability (limitation), the employer may adapt the workstation with cost reimbursement. Just as in direct support, indirect aid also includes the possibility of reimbursement of training for an employee with disabilities (Badanie potrzeb osób…, ). In addition to the direct and indirect support discussed above, people in need can be supported through active and passive labor market instruments. Passive labor market policy includes unemployment bene ts intended to alleviate the impact of unemployment on one's life. Active instruments include funds for retraining or remuneration subsidies. ose who take advantage of passive instruments and receive disability pension are less eager to look for job because they are afraid of losing the bene t. People with disabilities choose grey economy or low-paying jobs (Giermanowska ). Note that people who receive disability pension may refrain from working because of their health.
Despite so many types of support to foster economic activity, people with disabilities face barriers that discourage them. e most common cause of staying out of the labor market is poor health and reluctance of people involved (including employers), according to inactive people with disabilities. Regrettably, they are o en perceived as less e ective, dependent, and tending towards excessive absence. e today's labor market prefers people who are skilled at handling problem situations, productive, able to work under time pressure, independent, living up to employer's expectations, and bringing in the most pro t.
Ewa Oleszczak aptly summarized employment aid and support for people with disabilities that e ective employment requires a comprehensive employment aid, implementation, and formal and legal functional standards model. It should be founded on the individualized approach to the person with disabilities (Oleszczak ).

Conclusions
People with disabilities are the untapped potential of the labor market, which should be unlocked in the context of various social processes. Aging populations pose a challenge to many countries. If no actions to improve the use of the workforce in the economy are taken su ciently in advance, economies can wobble in a failure to provide adequate goods and services to the public. Part of this challenge includes actions to mobilize people with disabilities. erefore, it is important to identify causes of inactivity of those economically inactive to activate them and act to improve their chances in the labor market and prevent their exclusion. e problem is the group's low economic activity level and high unemployment. e labor market situation of people with disabilities is a particular one. People with disabilities are at risk of unemployment more than people without disabilities because of their lower activity level or inability to perform certain tasks due to health limitations. e e ort to aid the employment of a particular group will fail if they remain socially inactive. Hence the support aimed at the social mobilization of people with disabilities, for example, through social rehabilitation. is type of rehabilitation eliminates functional limitations for people with disabilities in the professional and social domains.
e analyses indicate that although the labor market situation of people with disabilities improved from to , there is still a signi cant di erence between the groups with and without disabilities. People with disabilities are much rarer participants of the labor market than people without disabilities. eir economic activity rate is much lower than for people without disabilities. What is more, people with disabilities exhibit higher unemployment and lower employment rates. Support for people with disabilities in Poland consists mainly of passive labor market instruments. eir primary objective is to help people with disabilities who are outside the labor market: unemployed or in nancial di culties. Social policy instruments (such as bene ts) provide nancial aid and encourage active participation in the labor market.
People with disabilities are considered ine cient, less productive, and potential barriers to achieving the best possible results for market players. erefore, the reluctance on the part of employers and stereotypes concerning people with disabilities contribute to their reduced societal and vocational activity.